Money Controls is 'just the ticket'

Shere chooses Ardac Elite bill acceptor for new rail ticket machines

Money Controls helped us design our new machine with innovative and robust solutions

Iain Kingsley, Managing Director, Shere Ltd

Background

Shere Ltd. is a leading provider of integrated self-service, desktop and internet ticketing, reservation and sales systems to the railway industry, hotels, fast-food outlets, car rental depots and petrol retailers. Recently, it was invited to tender for the replacement of ticketing machines on the London Docklands Light Railway (LDLR) and, wanting to take advantage of the latest developments in payment solutions, the company carried out research into a number of possible solutions providers. It soon became evident that Money Controls' products, particularly the Ardac Elite bill acceptor, were way ahead of the competition.

Solution

For the LDLR tender, Shere decided to develop a new, bespoke ticketing machine. This would incorporate the best features of their existing machines, together with a bespoke money-handling solution based on standard products.

Alongside Ardac Elite, Shere investigated other Money Controls' products, including the SR5i coin acceptor, the Compact and Universal hoppers, and PayLink, the USB integration module that dramatically reduces the time-to-market for new machines. All of these products met Shere's exacting demands for their new ticketing machine, but it was Money Controls' willingness to work with Shere to help them achieve their goal that really impressed David Hutchinson, the head of design at Shere: "Lots of companies claim to be customer focussed, but Money Controls lived up to the claim: they rapidly understood what we wanted and worked closely with us develop a bespoke version of their PayLink unit. This meant we could update the machine control unit, enabling us to take advantage of the latest developments and helping us meet the deadline for submission of the LDLR tender."

Iain Kingsley, Shere's Managing Director, was equally complimentary: "Working with Money Controls has been a very positive experience for us, all the way from the design stage right up to the machine launch. We have been impressed performance of all of their products particularly the Ardac Elite. What's more, Money Controls ensured that we were fully supported at all times and helped us design our new machine with innovative and robust solutions."

Result

Machine field trials were conducted as part of the tendering process and the Ardac Elite bill acceptor performed beyond everyone's expectations during the trials. "Delivering the highest levels of reliability, performance and security, Ardac Elite was instrumental in the success of the trials, which led to winning us the London Docklands Light Railway contract," said Iain Kingsley. "The demanding outdoor environment in which the ticket machine is sited requires trouble-free operation with minimum need to for servicing; the Ardac Elite performance has exceeded these criteria."

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